The Asian Coalition for Community Action's Approach to Slum Upgrading

This paper is a review of the experience of the Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) Program operated by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR).

The objective is to examine what ACCA has
accomplished in three years of operation (2009-2012) under a
Gates Foundation grant. The review is based on field visits
to three of the countries served by ACCA Thailand,
Cambodia, and Vietnam and discussions with community leaders
from three other countries Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri
Lanka. Numerous discussions were held with the ACHR
leadership, staff from the Community Organization
Development Institute (CODI) of Thailand, and the Thailand
Development Research Institute (TDRI).1 In addition, a
review was conducted of the literature prepared by and about
ACHR, as well as a filtering and synthesis of the status of
the cities and countries that made use of ACCA in terms of
their broader economic conditions and local governance
capabilities. Given that ACCA operates in more than 150
cities in 19 countries, this review is by no means an
audited account of its activities.